An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot aboard. Its flight is controlled either autonomously by onboard computers or by the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. UAVs are commonly used in military and special operations applications, and are increasingly finding uses in civil, commercial and recreational applications, such as policing and surveillance, aerial filming, and delivering of packages to end consumers.
Existing UAVs may be of the single rotor or dual coaxial rotor type, which provide a number of distinctive advantages over other UAV designs. For example these types of UAVs typically have a compact footprint, a small rotor disc surface area, and a small circumference, which makes them particularly suitable for a number of application where close interaction with people and reliable operation even with environment disturbances is essential.
One notable problem when designing single rotor or dual coaxial rotor UAVs is the inherent difficulty of the proper weight distribution throughout the UAV. Three important high-mass objects, the propulsion system (including the electric motor and propellers), the energy source module (typically a battery), and the cargo module (e.g., a cargo compartment, camera or other useful cargo/instrument the UAV transports), must often be taken into account, which affect the weight distribution of the UAV.
In view of the above, there is therefore a need for a UAV design in which the weight of the UAV is distributed in such a way as to minimize the inertial moment of the UAV.